Boo! All week long, the Eco Women will be posting about the environmental issues that scare them the most.
In 1909, cotton and sugarcane plantations dominated the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The same year, Standard Oil established the first refinery. Since then, this stretch of river has become of the of America’s most toxic cesspools — full of bad odors, bad water, illness and pollution. Over 300 major industries operate within this corridor. This stretch of river is also home to primarily low income African Americans. Unemployment is high and poverty abounds. Alongside poor living conditions, these people suffer from asthma, stillbirths, miscarriages, neurological diseases and cancer. Mike Farrell gives his personal view on his blog–
One woman, who seems to be the appointed spokesperson for the community, produces a list of family and neighbors who have died of cancer, liver and kidney disease and other less-clear causes. Among other insults, she talks of being victimized by “mustard gas,” which is later explained to me as a chemical reaction resulting from a process used by the company to clean old equipment. The gas had seeped out, into, and across their community. The residents claim the company has responsibility for the medical problems that have resulted from this and other such incidents; the company will not help.
A young woman, a graduate of the university, tells of the lingering effects of damage that was done her when a barge capsized on the river just offshore and a cloud of benzene encompassed the campus. A lovely young woman — her tale of years of debilitating illness, nausea, and possible neural damage is staggering. She’s followed by a teacher who describes her own confusion as to what to do during the event. Her students were suffering, yet they were all told to remain on campus, no cause for alarm. Nor has there been any acceptance of responsibility for the accident.
In 2002 Louisiana had the 2nd highest death rate from cancer in the U.S. It had a population of 4,469,970 people and produced 9,416,598,055 pounds of waste in 2000. Industries citing industrial accidents and accidental chemical releases include Conoco. Conoco discharged 19-47 million pounds of ethylene dicholoride into a local stream. After the flooding from Katrina and Rita, an estimated million gallons of oil saturated St. Bernard Parish from 44 spills. An estimated 7 million gallons of oil seeped out of gas stations, offshore rigs, and coastal refineries. Soil samples showed arsenic, heavy metals, benzene, diesel, and pesticides. Residents and relief workers both reported flu-like symptoms, fevers, vomiting, and coughing for months after Katrina.
You can’t read about this place, these people, this pollution without feeling some level of guilt. We’ve all profited from the destruction of this region — enjoyed the luxury of cheap fuel and ignored its source. The corporations in this region polluted and profited without accountability and the citizens suffered without recourse (it’s tough for people without money to have a voice, hire legal representation, or fight companies with billions in their coffers). One cannot travel through this region and ignore the scars of corporate greed — the smoke of the factories and refineries, the landscape of scaffolding and structure. Enviro-Girl saw it firsthand in 1995, she can only imagine what the past decade of American greed has done to further devastate the region. When she reads the following articles, it’s hard for her to believe the words “liberty and justice for all.”
Unbelievable. It’s like reading something from a John Grisham book, only at least then the innocent are helped in the end.
We can’t drink safe water, live in safe areas – what’s the world coming to?